Lace manufacture



' Dec. 5, 1961 Filed Jan. 18, 1961 G. w. ELSAS ETAL LACE MANUFACTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.1

ATTORNEY Dec. 5, 1961 a. w. ELSAS ETAL LKCE MANUFACTURE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 18, 1961 A. d N a J J @n. J \MIM/M IINVENTORS Gerald W. Elsas Roberr F. Riehl 4km ATTORNEY mdE Dec. 5, 1961 G. w. ELsAs- ETAL LACE MANUFACTURE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 18, 1961 FIG.3

INVENTORS Gerald W. Elsas y Roberr F. Riehl \/M,7&ZMW- ATTORNEY 3,011,325 LACE MANUFACTURE Gerald W. Elsas, New Rochelle, N.Y., and Robert F.

Riehl, West Englewood, N.J., assignors to Lace Originals, Inc, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 18, 1961, Ser. No. 83,408 8 Claims. or. 6684) This invention relates to the manufacture of lace on a knitting machine of the Raschel type and, more particularly, to a novel knitting technique wherein individual motifs are produced without any connecting threads therebetween other than the usual mesh background.

The usual type of lace made by machine is distinguished by the presence of connecting threads between the several motifs or patterns. For example, separate flower patterns or motifs are frequently interconnected by leaf patterns to disguise the presence of the motif interconnecting threads. Lace of this type is relatively inexpensive to manufacture as compared to'the type of lace known as clipped lace.

Clipped lace is characterized by the absence of threads, other than the usual mesh background, interconnecting the several motifs. This type of lace can be made by machine, but hand labor or special equipment is required to remove the connecting threads between the motifs. As this necessary hand labor greatly increases the cost of machine made clipped lace, most of this lace is imported into the United States due to the relatively much lower cost of foreign labor.

As described in Lace Manufacture On Raschel Machines, by Charles Rothstein and published by the National Knitted Outerwear Association, lace is knitted on a Raschel machine by using reciprocating latch needles in cooperation with thread guides swinging between the needles and given a lateral oscillatory movement by pattern chains so as to form loops around the raised open needles. These thread guides are thin metal fingers, equal in number to the associated needles and movable between adjacent needles. The needles are cast into two-inch wide leads, the number of needles perlead determining the gauge of the machine. The thread guides are similarly cast into two-inch wide leads which are fixed on guide bars.

The mesh background or base fabric may be knit using one or two guide bars which are fully threaded, as by having threads in the eyes of all of their thread guides. These guide bars are operated, by a rock shaft mounting and by associated pattern chain means, to both underlay and overlay the threads with respect to the associated needles and thus form loops therearound which are progressively knocked-over or cast off the needles.

To provide the pattern or motif, which is laid into the base fabric, additional guide bars are used hich may or may not be fully threaded, depending upon the particular pattern or motif to be bound into the base fabric or mesh background. The additional guide bars are used only in conjunction with one or more guide bars which knit the base fabric, and carries only the laying-in thread or threads. The guide bars for the laying-in thread or threads are operated, by rock shaft and pattern chain means, in such a manner that they do not execute overlaps relatively to the needles.

The majority of Raschel knit laces are produced using a mesh background comprising symmetrical hexagonal holes using, for example, two guide bars known as a front bar and a back bar. The front bar may have, in knitting notation, a 20/0-2/20/24/4-2/24 movement, and the back bar a /2/0/4/2/4 movement. This produces a mesh of good strength, handle and stability,

f atented Dec. 5, 1961 ine due to the tight loops. In this mesh structure, each hole is formed by three loops.

In accordance with the present invention, a lace fabric having the appearance of clipped lace is knit on a Raschel machine without requiring any manual labor or special equipment to remove interconnecting threads between the motifs.

This is effected by using the aforementioned two-bar technique to form the background or base fabric and a plurality of independently supplied and independently operated pattern or motif guide bars. The back bar has threads omitted from its thread guides at preselected locations, forming channels available for pattern threads to be incorporated as part of the background or base fabric. The location of these channels is selected in accordance with the particular motifs to be laid into the base fabric.

During formation of the mesh background in the nonpatterned areas, pattern threads are fed from the individual pattern bars into these channels to coact with the mesh yarn fed by the front bar to form the mesh. Thus, the pattern threads actually comprise the mesh forming threads along these channels, and thus are not visible as patterns interconnecting the motifs. In the non-patterned area,the pat-ternbars have the same motion applied thereto as would be applied to the back bar in making the mesh base fabric. Thus the pattern threads in the channels are laid under and over the needles to form the mesh loops in the same manner as would the regular mesh threads if they were present in the channels..

At the start of a motif, the pattern bars have imparted thereto, instead of the mesh formation motion of underlaying and overlaying the needles, a motif formation motion wherein the pattern threads are laid over the mesh threads with the pattern bars not executing any overlaps relative to the needles. The threads or yarns carried by the pat tern bars now form the motif. After the motif is completed, the pattern bars operating along the channels are again given a net forming motion in which they both underlap and overlap the needles. This continues to the start of the next motif, so that the pattern threads again constitute part of the base fabric, in substitution for the omitted base fabric threads along the channel.

As a feature of the invention, all of the yarns, both mesh and pattern, are of the same weight or denier. Various weights in the completed fabric are provided, as for pattern shading or relief, by multiplying the number of yarns following a given track. This is easily effected due to the individual and independent control of the movement of the multiple pattern bars each feeding a single yarn or end.

For an understanding of the invention principles, reference is made to the following descriptions of typical embodiments thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates, on a greatly enlarged scale, the stitch formation of the background mesh with a pattern thread forming an integral part of the mesh;

FIG. 2 diagrammatically illustrates, on substantially the same scale as FIG. 1, the stitch formation of a motif using pattern threads constituting an integral part of the mesh between the motif areas; and

FIG. 3 is a design layout of a lace pattern embodying the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the hexagonal loop mesh is formed by a front guide'bar feeding threads P, which is underlaid and overlaid relative to the needles to form a series of connected loops, and by a backguide bar feeding a thread B which reinforces the mesh structure and cooper- Q3 ates with thread F to form the symmetrical hexagonal loops of the mesh.

In accordance with the invention, however, certain selected thread guides of the back bar are left unthreaded so as to leave channels which would normally be occupied by mesh reinforcing back bar threads. In further accordance with the invention, these channels, in between motifs, are occupied by pattern threads, such as P-1 and P-Z which are fed by individually controlled and actuated pattern bars and, between motifs, these pattern bars are given the same motion as the back bar. Thus, the pattern threads, such as P-1 and P-2, form an integral part of the ground or mesh and, in the several channels, reinforce mesh thread F in the same manner as do mesh threads B. Thus, the pattern threads P, forming an integral part of the ground between motifs, and acting in substitution for the omitted ground threads B, are not visible as separate pattern threads interconnecting the individual motifs.

Referring more particularly to FIG. 2, the mesh formation laterally and longitudinally between motifs is illustrated as formed in the same manner as in FIG. 1, utilizing front bar ground threads F, rear bar ground reinforcing threads B, and pattern bar ground reinforcing threads P. In the particular section illustrated, the back bar feeds reinforcing threads B-l through 13-4. The channels for threads B-1 and B-2 are separated from those for threads or yarns 13-3 and 8-4 by a plurality of unthreaded positions forming channels for pattern threads P-ll through P-6 fed by individually controlled pattern thread bars, here indicated as six (6) in number. In the mesh areas laterally and longitudinally separating the motifs, the pattern threads P-l through P4? are given exactly the same motion as the ground threads B-l through B4 fed by the occupied back bar positions. Hence, threads P-l through P-4 form an integral part of these mesh areas and thus are not visible as separate pattern threads interconnecting individual and separated motifs. This can be easily discerned in FIG. 2 bycompan ing the pattern of threads P-l through P4?- with that of threads B1 through B-4.

At the starting course of the motif shown in FIG. 2, threads P3, P-4 and P-S are given a laying in motion by being drawn to the right to pass through the loops reinforced by thread B-3. Then threads P-3, P-4 and P5 are overlaid to the left, in the next course, to pass through the loops reinforced by thread P-1. In the next motif course, threads P-3, P-4 and P-S are again drawn to the right, and the zigzag motion is continued, with some lateral off-setting, until the last course of the motif is completed. The threads P-3, P-4 and P-S are then continued in their previous channels, as an integral part of the ground, until the starting course of the next motif is reached.

In the particular motif illustrated in FIG. 2, the pattern threads P-1, P-2 and P-fi continue across the pattern as ground threads forming part of the motif. However, these threads could also be given a laying in motion by their respective pattern bars, if required by the particular motif.

It will be noted, in FIG. 2, that the pattern is formed by three threads of the same denier, thus providing a triple thickness overlay on the ground. However, this thickness can be selectively increased or decreased, as desired or required by, respectively, taking an additional pattern thread P from this channel and incorporating it in the motif, or returning a motif forming thread P to its channel. This technique can, of course, be applied to more than one thread P at a time or at selected courses.

In the design layout of FIG. 3, the channels between the motifs, and in which the pattern threads P-1 through R6 are used as the reinforcing threads, are indicated by the heavier hexagon forming lines. In the motif, the marginal areas are of double thickness, being formed by threads P-1 and P-2, on the right, and by threads P-5 and 33-6, on the left. Single thickness areas are formed by threads P-Z, P-3, P-4 and P-S, with some of these threads being overlapped in parts of the area to provide relief effects. FIG. 3 is exemplary of the many possibilities of patterning available with the present invention, both as to outline and weight or relief in the motifs.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the invention principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles,

What is claimed is:

l. A method of knitting lace on a Raschel knitting machine comprising the steps of operating inlay'thread guide bars to form a series of interconnected reinforced loops in adjacent wales and courses to knit a ground mesh while omitting threads from selected thread guides of at least one of said inlay bars to form selectively located channels in the ground mesh; providing a plurality of pattern thread guide bars each feeding a single pattern thread at a location corresponding to a respective channel; in the mesh areas between motifs, individually controllably operating the pattern bars in the same manner as said inlay bars to incorporate the respective pattern threads as an integral part of the ground mesh; and in the motif areas, individually controllably operating the pattern bars to lay the respective pattern threads into the ground mesh to form a pre-selected motif design; whereby the pattern threads incorporated in the ground mesh between separated motifs are not visible as pattern threads.

2. A method of knitting lace on a Raschel knitting machine as claimed in claim 1 in which all of the inlay threads are of the same denier.

3. A method of knitting lace on a Raschel knitting machine as claimed in claim 1 in which all of the inlay threads are of the same denier; and certain of the threads are selectively superposed in the motif areas to provide reliefs in the pattern.

4. A method of knitting lace on a Raschel knitting machine as claimed in claim 1 in which certain of the pattern threads are selectively displaced from the respective channels in forming the motifs.

5. A method of knitting lace on a Raschel knitting ma-' chine comprising the steps of operating a front thread guide bar to form a series of interconnected loops in adjacent wales and courses; operating a back thread guide bar in cooperation with said front thread guide bar to feed reinforcing threads through said loops to knit a ground mesh; omitting threads from selected thread guides of said back bar to form selectively located channels in the ground mesh; providing a plurality of pattern thread guide bars each feeding a single pattern thread at a location corresponding to a respective channel; in the mesh areas between motifs, individually controllably operating the pattern bars in the same manner as the back bar to incorporate the respective pattern threads as an integral part of the ground mesh by forming the reinforcing thread extending along the channels; and in the motif areas, individually controllably operating the pattern bars to lay the respective pattern threads into the ground mesh to form a pre-selected motif design; whereby the pattern threads incorporated in the ground mesh between separated motifs are not visible as pattern threads.

6. A method of knitting lace on a Raschel knitting machine as claimed in claim 5 in which all of the threads are of the same denier.

7. A method of knitting lace on a Raschel knitting machine as claimed in claim 5 in which all of the threads are of the same denier;,and certain of the threads are selectively superposed in the motif areas to provide reliefs in the pattern.

8. A method of knitting lace on a Raschel knitting machine as claimed in claim 5 in which certain of the 1 j 6 pattern threads are selectively displaced from the re-' 2,205,581 Staff June 25, 1940 spective channels in forming the motifs. 2,557,482 R Stolle et a1. June 19, 1951. 2,923,143 Harris "Feb. 2, 1960 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 2,012,355 Schonfeld Aug.27,1935 1,027,910 Franc? 1953 

